Best Tent Camping near Weston, OR
The Blue Mountains surrounding Weston, Oregon offer several tent camping options in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, with Mottet Campground and Bone Spring Campground providing established tent campsites within 30 miles of town. Wallowa-Whitman NF 21 dispersed camping area offers primitive tent camping opportunities with multiple pull-offs along forest roads. Mottet Campground, open from July 4 to Labor Day, provides shaded tent sites in a ponderosa pine setting with basic amenities including vault toilets and drinking water from a freshwater spring.
Many tent-only camping areas require high-clearance vehicles to access, particularly after rain when forest roads become muddy and rutted. Campers report that Mottet Campground requires navigating forest service roads with significant ruts and high bumps. One visitor noted, "Our group made it in a Nissan Rogue and a RAV4, but it was pushing it a bit." Bone Spring Campground is no longer actively maintained but remains accessible via a 20-mile dirt two-track from Tiger Creek Road. Most primitive tent sites feature simple fire rings but lack potable water. Sites at Wallowa-Whitman NF 21 dispersed area have rock fire rings and flat spots for tents but no facilities, making them suitable for self-contained backcountry tent camping.
Tent campers seeking solitude will find spacious sites at Mottet Campground where, according to one visitor, "there's lots of room between you and your neighboring campsite - if you even have neighbors, we were the only ones there." The area offers excellent stargazing opportunities with minimal light pollution. Dispersed tent sites along forest roads provide varying levels of privacy, with some campers noting that driving further from highways yields quieter experiences. Visitors to Wallowa-Whitman NF 21 report seeing wildlife including elk and turkeys. Walk-in tent sites throughout the region connect to hiking trails, making them good basecamps for day hikes or backpacking trips into more remote areas of the national forest.
